The Joint Task Force-Southern Border has begun the process of placing razor wire across the nine Customs and Border Patrol sectors along the southern border.
The efforts are being carried out in collaboration with CBP and the Defense Logistics Agency, a news release from the Joint Task Force-Southern Border states.
The military command described the effort as the “largest Concertina wire (C-wire) emplacement in U.S. territorial history.”
The placement comes as President Donald Trump’s administration looks to further deter migrants in Mexico from crossing into the United States. Migrant crossings are currently at the lowest levels in decades.
There were 43,000 rolls of razor wire delivered to the nine CBP sectors along the border.
The Texas National Guard first unrolled razor wire across El Paso’s border with Mexico in December 2022 as Gov. Greg Abbott expanded Operation Lone Star into the region, resulting in the militarization of the border. The border wall was already in place.
The use of the razor wire along the Texas-New Mexico border was condemned by Borderland Democrats. Former President Joe Biden did little to challenge the use of the wire along the border.
Trump declared an emergency at the southern border shortly after his inauguration on Jan. 20, deploying soldiers to the border. The Pentagon declared two military zones extending from El Paso to Arizona in April 2025.
U.S. Army Stryker armored vehicles continue to sit overlooking the U.S.-Mexico border to discourage any illegal crossings.
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: U.S. Army border joint task force begins rolling out razor wire on border
Reporting by Jeff Abbott, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
